2022/23 Argentina Corn 10.4% Harvested

It looks like the weather in Argentina has turned the corner on the worst drought in generations. Farmers are hoping that it will continue to improve, which would be beneficial for the winter wheat which they will start planting next month. If we transition to an El Nino before about September, that would be good news for the 2023/24 corn crop in Argentina because El Nino conditions usually result in trendline or above corn yields.

Improved weather going forward in Argentina will have limited benefits since the 2022/23 crops as so far along. Two things to watch for going forward would be too much rain which might disrupt the harvest or an early frost. For the later planted corn, any frost before early May could hurt the yield potential.

Corn in Argentina was 10.4% harvested as of late last week. This represents an advance of 3.4% for the week. In the core production areas and Entre Rios, the corn is approximately 30-35% harvested with just a few percent harvested in other areas. The average yield of the corn harvested thus far is 3,890 kg/ha (61.8 bu/ac) which is up 2.1 bu/ac from the prior week.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange left their corn yield estimate unchanged last week at 36 million tons and they indicated that it might move lower in the weeks ahead.

The corn in Argentina was rated 52% poor/very poor, 41% fair, and 7% good/excellent as of late last week. The good/excellent percentage was down 2% compared to the previous week. The soil moisture for the corn was rated 45% short/very short and 55% favorable/optimum. The favorable/optimum percentage was up 4% compared to the previous week.

Below is the corn condition rating in Argentina from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange for April 5, 2023.

2022/23 Argentina Corn Ratings*

*Source: Buenos Aires Grain Exchange – Crop Condition & Development Stages

Tags: Эль-Ниньо, harvest, corn, planting, weather, estimate, winter wheat, drought, yields, crop, Argentina